Hayley is investigating DIY funerals. Who is Hayley? Of course, she's a character on the British night-time soap opera, Coronation Street (a/k/a "Corrie"), that's been running continuously in the U.K. since 1960. Hayley doesn't want to "waste good money on oak caskets and brass handles. "

Here's an essay from the Irish Times, inspired both by the fictional Corrie debate, and preferences expressed by the County Down author's real-life partner, including a discussion of an Irish tradition, the wake.

I especially like the line from the essay, "She was waked in her own home."